UPDATE: The winners are…Wendy Vest, Dana Zamora, and Pamela Reveal!
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This shelf is right above my monitor. And yes, it’s super jumbled (not junky, because none of it is junk!). When we moved my office, everything was pitched willy-nilly into the shelves. I still haven’t found “homes” for everything. Although, I do like the Singing Raisins next to my Gaia statue. Do you see Harley Quinn behind the shell that goes with my sage bundle? And my poor ancient shabti, hidden behind the sage? That came from an Egyptian gravesite and was used as inspiration when I wrote my awakened mummy story, Crescent Moon. (Hmmm…did you know it’s free on KU?!)

Anyways, the point to all this is the little stack of books at the very back of the shelf on the left. I love those little books you find at the bookstore. I even contacted the company that produces these little books because I had an idea for a zombie book, but they have their “on staff” writers who do those. Very disappointing. I have my little book of Budha, my little book about the goddess within. My roundabout point for mentioning all this is the little book, entitled The Woman’s Book of Simple Delights.

During this time of deprivations, we should be looking for things to delight in, don’t you think? So, I’m going to randomly open the book and repeat the suggestion there.

“Have a cold beer in your yard late at night, looking at the stars—OR—Attempt a cartwheel.”

Do either of those appeal to you? Do you have a better self-pampering, delightful suggestion you’d like to share? Comment below for a chance to win your choice of either one of my recent releases or a short story from my short story page! I’ll choose 3 winners!

UPDATE: The winner is…Becky Byers!
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It’s Sunday! You needed that reminder, right? I know it’s Sunday because the 15-year-old is going to clean for me today! It’s her “job” for which she gets paid. And she earns it. I am a collector (er, my dd says, “hoarder”), so there are lots of things to dust!

Today’s post is easy. Remember to enter all the open contests before they close up tight! Solve the puzzle and tell me a story for another chance to win!

A Reminder

1. Diana Cosby: Forbidden Realm, The Story, The Series Inspiration (Contest) — This one ends soon!! Win a tote and a mug!
2. A Puzzle & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. What I’ve been doing with my self-isolation! (Contest) — Win a handmade bookmark!
4. Vonna Harper: Breathing Deep (For Five Lucky Readers–Free Read!) — 5 people will win a FREE uber-sexy book!
5. Poll About Prizes & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

The Puzzle & the Contest

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me a little snippet of a story about this man!

UPDATE: The winner is…Christine!
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Contests… *sigh*

Why do I do them? For the same reasons every other author does: To get people curious to come to check out my blog then subscribe to my blog, so they never miss a chance at winning something they’d like to have. And maybe along the way, they discover I write really fun, sexy books, and they become lifelong fans! (Psst! That subscription thingie is on the left under “Follow My Blog”.)

For the most part, I give away ebooks and Amazon gift cards because they are easy and immediate. However, I know ebooks can sit forever on a reader’s Kindle before they read it. And a winner might spend their gift card on TP, which kinda kills the idea of getting readers hooked on me.

For purely selfish reasons, I also like to change things up on my blog. Yes, I have new and interesting guests all the time, but I like to do things here, too. I love sharing what I’m doing, what I’m writing, what I’m painting or crafting. For instance, I’ve been sharing, mostly on Instagram and my Facebook friends page, the paintings and collages I’m doing every day for the #100dayproject challenge. Think about that. At the end of the challenge, I’ll have 100 things of widely varying quality to trash, hold onto, give away, or sell.

Which gets me back to contests, or rather the prizes I offer…

I love offering books for the reason I stated before, but there are more possibilities, for instance:

A handmade painted/collaged/or beaded bookmark

A handmade piece of jewelry

A handmade pendant

A piece of art that might be on a postcard or a greeting cardYears ago, I ran a “fugly” ring contest. I’d found a gemstone (I think garnet) and silver ring with caribou dancing around the gemstone. It’s hard to see from the terribly unfocused pictures, but I described it well at the time. I had a ton of people enter to win that truly fugly ring. I have another fugly ring that needs a home…

Poll & Contest

Win a $5 Amazon gift card. This is all you have to do. Vote in the poll, and then tell me in the comments below which of the ideas appeal the most!

UPDATE: The winner is…ButtonsMom2003!
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I’m going to share, and then I’m going to ask you to share…pictures, that is!

During this strange time, I decided to take up the #100dayproject challenge. The goal is to do something “artful” every day. Doesn’t have to be big or a big deal or even very good. The goal is to make art a habit. So, I’m at Day 15 of the challenge. I’m a little behind. I’ve posted through Day 13’s efforts. Every day when I finish a piece, I post it on Instagram and Facebook. I also talk about the project and, sometimes, what goes into making some of these little pieces on my other blog: The Emerald Casket. You can head there if you’d like to see everything I’ve done so far.

Here’s Day 13:

So, I what I’m looking to do today, here, is share pictures of things you might be working on. Are you knitting? Canning? Marie Kondo-ing? Send a pic to me at delilah@delilahdevlin.com, and I’ll post it here! And if you send me something, I’ll choose a winner from the posters to give either one of my painted postcards or a collaged bookmark!

Shares

From Susan! Looks like she’s getting things checked off her Honey Do list! A new faucet! Love it!

UPDATE: The winner is…Fedora!
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I’m still playing catchup after the power outage. I finished a set of edits this week, and now, I’m working on another. Tomorrow, I’ll be starting a new story while editing the remaining shorties for the First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. As well, I have to work on new art pieces for the #100dayproject. Never a dull moment around here!

I’d love to hear what new things you are doing to keep busy in this crazy time. I haven’t added anything new to my plate, but maybe, some of you are growing bored with your first endeavors.

I’ll give you a little challenge now to help keep you occupied. 🙂

Finish the puzzle, then tell me a story about the image. One commenter will win a $5 Amazon gift card!

I’m all caught up now with the blogs I missed posting during my power outage! Be sure to check out these contests TODAY! Some are ending very, very soon!

1. Megan Ryder: A Cowboy’s Song (Giveaway) — Last Chance! Win a FREE book!
2. Three weeks in… (Puzzle & Contest) — This ends tomorrow! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Reina Torres: Justice for Hildie (Contest) —  Win a FREE ebook!
4. A Reminder, a Contest, and a Puzzle! There’s no excuse for being bored!!! — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Desiree Holt: Zero Hour (Contest) — Win a FREE read!
6. Diana Cosby: Forbidden Realm, The Story, The Series Inspiration (Contest) — Win a cup and a tote!

UPDATE: The winner is…Michelle Willms!
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©Diana Cosby 2020

While attending a writing retreat several years ago, Sir Stephan MacQuistan woke me up, told me that he was a Knights Templar, and demanded that I write his story. Stephan’s story turned out to be, Forbidden Legacy, where he meets the heroine, Katherine, and became the first of five books in The Forbidden Series.

I’ve loved writing each story in The Forbidden Series, the inspiration for each as unique as the characters. In Forbidden Knight, I had the vision of the heroine, Alesone, shooting an arrow a breath’s width before the hero, Sir Thomas, into a tree. The idea made me smile as I knew it’d take a strong heroine to do such an outrageous act, one that’d outrage the hero with her daring, but also leaving him, however much he wished otherwise, to admire her daring. At that moment, I knew I’d found the perfect inciting incident to brainstorm the remainder of the story.

The inspiration from Forbidden Vow came when after I gave a key note speech in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As we were sitting around the dinner table, the wonderful couple I stayed with told me about how early in the 1900s, women would write to sailors. If the service member had a girlfriend or pen pal, he’d pass the letter to a sailor without either. I found that bit of information interesting, and then thought, what my hero comes across his friend who is mortally wounded, who is now, unknown to his former friend, an enemy, who is carrying a missive to a noble that he’s the man’s daughter’s betrothed. The hero realizes the man’s intended is Lady Gwendolyn, whose castle the hero is trying to infiltrate for information for King Robert Bruce in preparation for an upcoming attack. When his former friend dies, Sir Cailin takes the missive and pretends to be her betrothed with the intent that once he’s gained the necessary information about the stronghold, he will leave. The moment the idea came to mind, I knew it was the perfect base to begin brainstorming for Forbidden Vow.

I’m always trying to think of unique ways for the hero and heroine to meet. A thought came to mind while I was out walking, “What if the heroine, Elspet, robs the hero, Sir Cailin, then due to circumstance, is forced to return to the hero and convince him to help her in her goal?” And, the idea for Forbidden Alliance was born.

I loved writing The Forbidden Series. Each story means so much to me, so when it came time to write the last book, I wanted to ensure it was very special, more so as it’s dedicated to my amazing daughter. I had a lot to achieve in Forbidden Realm, I needed to find a storyline worthy of the series, plus create a strong heroine for Rónán. Hence, Lathir’s character was born. I was blessed in that Lathir came to me a complete character, intelligent, passionate, and determined. The perfect match for Rónán. So, I devised a plot where they faced numerous and at times seemingly impossible odds, but in the end, not only allowed them a happily ever after, but a complex story laden with surprises, that I sincerely hope readers enjoy.

About the Author

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated into five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series, The Oath Trilogy, and the first four books of The Forbidden Series, she’s thrilled with the release of book #5, Forbidden Realm.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.

Contest

***ONE winner will be drawn from everyone who posts on my guest blog post about, ‘Forbidden Realm, The Story, The Series Inspiration,’ on Delilah’s blog between 15 April 2020 – 26 April 2020. The winner will receive a mug and tote.

Diana Cosby, International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
Forbidden Series: Forbidden Legacy/Forbidden Knight/Forbidden Vow/Forbidden Alliance/Forbidden Realm